Keyword Bidding Tips
As small business owners, your business idea might have come to you in a number of different ways. That whole saying that, ‘It’s just business, it’s not personal’ couldn’t be further from the truth, and understandably, you want to nurse your business to grow and flourish to be all you know it can be. So you’ve gone and gotten yourself a great business idea, naturally you should want to promote it online.
You’ve decided that Google AdWords is the place to be, and you’re right on the money. If you’re not advertising on Google, then you could be missing out on a huge market of potential clients. Word of mouth, newspaper ads, Yellow pages; they can all get your business, but the Internet has changed things. So you’ve gone and created your Google AdWords account, and you’re off and running!
Knowing your business best, you’ve been smart, and will have done your research. The keywords you pick are all relevant, and you have matches, phrases and exact terms.
Next up, are the advertisements. You create the ads, using your keywords to best effect, knowing that the ads are the first punch your business makes, so they have to be effective, while adding in the ‘call to action’ to really drive your point home.
Ad extensions, call extensions, callout extensions, they all take up more real estate on the page, and you want to be taking up this real estate while dropping your competitors even further down the page.
Now it’s time to sit back and wait for the business to roll in, right?
You’ve missed a step. You’re competing, against everyone else out there with the same business idea, the same keywords, and the same ads. It’s not just an auction; it’s a war out there. So, how do you win?
The first step is your keyword bidding.
Let’s imagine you and all of your competitors are in the same room; you’re all using the same business model, the same keywords, the same ads, and you’re all bidding $1.00 for your keywords.
Who wins? Well, the best website wins, because they get a better quality score than everyone else. That’s it then – Game over? Did you throw all this work into your fledgling business only to fall at the first hurdle? No way!
We know from our experience that many won’t see your ad if it’s not on the first page. Customers are more likely to select an ad or site from the first page, as it promotes a healthier and more prominent business. So you bid an extra 50 cents, and bump your ad onto the first page. You find you get a few impressions, and even a click or two but it’s not enough.
You make another adjustment, and you jump another few positions; your impressions go up, your clicks are higher, and Google starts to reward you for a better click through rate and you end up with a sale. It’s still not enough; you want to grow this business.
Another increase to your bids and suddenly for an extra dollar or two, you’re in top position on the page. Customers start seeing your ads, and the clicks come rolling in, you’re getting calls and beating all of your competitors. The battle is over. You’ve won… until your competitor makes a move.
We know that marketing changes. Look at the changes that Google have made in just the last few months.
Making sure you keep on top of your bidding is important! You could be in great position one day, getting work left, right and centre, and then someone else comes along and your keywords become more competitive, Google makes a change, and suddenly your competitors increase their bids and you’re left wondering what happened to all your calls.
Research and knowing your market is way up there as well. There’s not much chance of you being competitive on keywords like “Plumber in Sydney” with a $2.00 bid. Certain keywords can be expensive, so you need to know your starting point.
There are a number of tools you can use to your advantage such as the Keyword Planner, and testing the keywords you want to use against the locations you’re targeting will give you a really good starting point for where you need to be.
If you need help to get on top of your competitors, give your Client Manager at SponsoredLinX a call today on 1300 859 600,or visit our website at https://www.sponsoredlinx.com.au/. Happy bidding!